Oh, Dear what can the matter be? Victor Crowley is back on my TV!!!
Now, I don't have anything against Crowley (Hodder) as horror film monsters go, he's climbing up there. It's actually Green's story and direction which irked me the most about this film.
Firstly, the story is pretty much non-existent. Ten years after the first attack, the sole survivor, Andrew (Shen) is doing the rounds pushing his book on how he survived Crowley's attack. This puts him on his ex's TV show Sabrina (Brown). She's over antagonistic and bullies him in the interview. She later cons him into another interview, this time an outside broadcast back in Crowley's swamp. Meanwhile, a film crew accidentally resurrect Crowley and his killing spree starts up once again...
The major problem with the writing is the characters, particularly that of Sabrina and her relationship with Andrew. Supposedly they were a loving couple, though there's no evidence of it here. You're not even given a reason for why she treats Andrew so vehemently. This is unrealistic and unbelievable. It's also so obvious that their relationship is there as a comedic element. However, it's more annoying than funny. To be truthful, though labelled as a comedy there are very little laughs in the film. Not once did I smile at a joke, let alone laugh. Had this been played as a straight horror then it would be a stronger film. Another thing is Green relies on characters to add humour, such as Dillon (Sheridan). The trouble is we've seen this type of character so many times so you need to add something new to make it funny. There's nothing new in any of the characters. Though I have to say that Sheridan does put his heart and soul into his portrayal of the character, which was nice to see as other actors are less enthusiastic.
This could come down to direction as Brown, who plays Sabrina, is too shouty and angry. This needed to be toned down a little. As it stands, the handling of the character is part of the reason she comes off so badly. Then there's the scene at the shed. This is meant to be funny, but it's telegraphed too early so you know what's coming and you're waiting for it to happen. So when it does eventually come the comedy has been rendered unfunny. This is the case with a lot of the sight gags. As for the direction of the rest of the film, it's standard and dull, especially the scenes within the plane, of which there are too many.
In fact, the only saving grace to the whole film is Victor Crawley himself and his slaughters. The special effects team have my respect, these are gloriously nasty wet-work. I was just sad to see the turbine kill effect was shot at a sideways angle so there was little viscera. Shame they missed out on the chance for a nasty and grisly ending. If they could have pulled it off it would have gone down in history.
This is not the best in the Hatchet franchise and I'd not recommend it to anyone except those steadfast horror fans who have watched the previous three flicks.
